Meerschaum
is a aGermanworddescribing a softmineral , whichliterallymeans ‘seafoam' alludingtothebeliefthat it wasthecompressedwhitecaps of waves, just as it is said in mythologyforthegoddess of beauty - Aphrodite. It is of an opaquewhiteorcreamcolourandwhenfirstextracted is softandeasilymarked,
but it hardens on exporusetothe sun orwhendried in a warmroomor
in a furnace. Topolishthepipes
is veryimportant. Thepolishmust
be goodquality.

Most of theMeerschaumforcommercialuse is obtainedfromAsiaMinor,
chieflyfromtheplains of Eskisehir , Turkey
, where it occurs in a smallroundedlumps
, in alluvialdepositswhichareextensivelyworkedforitsextraction. Theextractedlumpsarefirstscrapedthendried,
againscrapedandthenpolishedwithwax. TherudelyshapedMeerschaum is thentakenintoworkshops,
where it is skilfullycarvedbyhandintobeautifulpipes, orturnedandcarvedintocigaretteandcigarholdersandarticles of adornment.

Meerschaum
is one of themajorreasonsforthefame of Eskisehir. ItcontainsMagnesium(Mg) andHydrosilicade in it’sstructure. Magnesiumdoesn'tmake it strongandthehydrogenandoxygendon'tmake
it cool. It is thecrystallinestructure; thearrangement of themagnesium, silicon, oxygen, andhydrogenatoms in a rigidcrystallinestructurethatmakessepiolite
(theclay mineral that is identifiedbypipesmokers
as meerschaum) sogoodforsmoking.
Eskisehir has thepurestandwhitest ,mosteasytoengraveMeerschaum in theworld. Meerschaumdeposits of thehighestqualityarefoundonly
in oneplace in theworld - in thesmallcity
of Eskisehir in centralTurkey. And here thedepositsareconfinedto an area of only 4 squaremiles. Itcomes in othermasses in varioussizesandround.
Because it is less dense thatthewater,
it floats on thewater. It is softwhennewly –extractedandfeelslikesoap but, it hardensovertime. It is alsocalled
‘whitegold’ because of it’scolour.

Minedwithhandtools, andby
men trained in thissingularfamilytradition, meerschaum is excavated at depthsrangingfrom 200 to300 feet. Theminerswashtherawmeerschaumlumpsandsorttheminto 5 categoriesaccordingtoquality. Each
of these 5 categories is furtherdividedinto 12 qualitiesaccordingto size, colourporosityandhomogeneity of the mineral.

Nearly
300 yearsago, thefirstmeerschaumpipewascarvedbyhand.
Andtoday, theseuniquepipesarestillcarvedbyhand.
Thecarver, a craftsman of uniqueabilityandlongexperience, examineseachpiece of meerschaum,
calculatingthelines of cleavagealongwhich it should be split. Thesplitblock-meerschaum is soaked in waterfor15-30minutesuntilthematerialachieves
a cheese-likeconsistency. Workingwiththesoftenedmaterial, thecarverdeterminestheroughshape
of thepipebeforethebowlanddraft hole arebored. Likeallfinehand-craftedarticles,
no twomeerschaumsarealike. Thecarvedmeerschaumgoesinto a kiln
at hightemperature, a processthatremovesallmoisturefromthe mineral. Theshank is threadedandfittedwith a stem. Aftermeticulouspolishingwiththefinestgradeabrasives, themeerschaum is readyforwaxing.
Thoughtherearemanydifferentwaxformulas, beeswaxaloneyieldstherichcolouringassociatedwiththefinestmeerschaums. Meltedandthenbleached,
thebeeswax is readytoreceivethepipeitself. Thesubtledifferences in colourandtoneamongpipesareintentional, achievedbycarefuldipping
of thepipes a specificnumber of times.

Meerschaum
is themostflavourfulandbeautifulpipeyou can own. Meerschaum
- one of themostporoussubstancesfound in nature - acts as a filter, absorbstobaccotarsandnicotine,
andyields a mostsatisfyingsmoke. Meerschaumsmokescoolanddrywith a flavourunrivalledbyanyotherpipe. As it ages, meerschaumcolours a richhoney-brown,
improvingboth in appearanceandtaste.

MeerschaumPipes - with a minimum of propercare - willlastfor a lifetime. Theywill not burnout
as briars do.

A meerschaum
is an investment in smokingpleasure. As beautiful as meerschaum is totheeye, itstruebeautymust be experienced. A meerschaum is madetosmoke. Hold
it. Enjoyitslightweightandsilkyfeel, itsdistinctivetaste, itsripeningto a mellow golden-brown. Justlydeservingitsreputation as the "aristocrat" of pipes, themeerschaum
is not meantfortheconnoisseuralone. Allpipesmokers can appreciatetheuniquepleasure
of meerschaum.

Don't
be afraidtohandleorholdyourmeerschaumwithcleanhands.
Remember, youpurchased a meerschaumprimarilyforyoursmokingpleasure. The "added" pleasureyouderivefrom a meerschaum is watching it colour as yousmoke it.

Theconventionalwisdom on thistopic is thathandling a meerschaumwhilewarmremovesthebeeswaxcoating on thepipe, whichhighlightsitscolouring. Whilethis is true,
onlythepurist - thesmoker
far moreconcernedwiththelook
of his pipethan his ownsmokingpleasure
- needworryabout it.

Do takecarewhenremovingthestem
of yourmeerschaumbypulling it andtwisting it CLOCKWISE whilesupportingtheshankwiththefingers. Replacethestembypushing it andtwisting it CLOCKWISE also. Twistingcounter-clockwisecouldunscrewthetenon,
anddoingsorepeatedly can stripouttheshank. A littlecare here will be repaidthrough a lifetime of smokingpleasure.

Don't
tap yourmeerschaumagainst a hard surface. Ifyou tap it in yourpalm, be sure tosupporttheshankfirmlywithyourhand.
This is soundadviceforbriarpipesmokersalso. Toempty
a meerschaum, tip it upsidedown, andiftheashdoesn'tfallout on itsownuse a pipetoolgentlytoloosen it.

Don'tlet a cakedevelop in a meerschaum. Therefore do not worryabout "breaking in" yourmeerschaum. Meerschaumpipes, unlikebriars, do not burnandhenceneed not be protectedby a carboncake.
Besides, themeerschaum is softerthanthecakeand it maycrackveryeasily,
since thecakeexpandswithheatfasterthanthemeerschaumdoes. You can ream
it out, but you'vegotto be verycareful in theprocess--thereamerwillremovemeerschaumfasterthancake, soyou'vegottowatchforspotswhereyou'vereamedawaythecakeandstayawayfromthose.

It
is not recommendedtousepipesweeteners
in meerschaumpipes. Theporous mineral will be soakedwiththesweetenercausing it toloseitsfunctionality.

Do cleanthecakeorresidue inside thebowl of yourmeerschaum. Use a sharp-edged, blunt-endedtool. Avoiddiggingintotheheel of thepipewhencleaningthegraft
hole by not allowingthepipecleaner
(NOT liquidcleaner) toextendtoo
far intothebowl. Do not usealcoholtocleanthebowl of a meerschaumpipe. Themeerschaum is WET and SOFT in theheelimmediatelyafter a smoke.